Union Design Committee Meeting: 2/9/2009

The Union Design Committee met on Monday February 9th to discuss additional first floor revisions and the percent for art program.

First floor revisions included having a single fireplace facing the coffee shop area while having the coffee shop seating on a raised platform. The height of the platform has yet to be determined. Revisions also included moving the hotel desk from the east wall to a more centralized location along the main walkway.

Percent for Art is a program created during the 1980’s to include artwork in public buildings for the purpose of improve the aesthetic and beautify the building. Two-Tenths of one percent (.2%) of the total funding of the project is set aside for artwork in highly-trafficked public buildings.

Jill Sebastian was the artist chosen for the artwork in the new South Campus Union. At this meeting, brainstorming was done to determine on which level the artwork should be placed, what it should incorporate, ideas for materials, etc.

If there are any ideas, comments, or concerns, please bring these to my attention so that I can inform the committee at our next meeting, all input and ideas are useful!

Union Design Committee Meeting: 2/2/2009

The Union Design Committee met on Monday February 2nd to discuss revisions of the first floor designs.

On the first floor near the entrance facing engineering hall, the coffee shop seating was expanded, while two fireplaces and soft seating were placed on either side of the main walkway running through the building. Seating in the Sun Garden (Formally known as the Winter Garden) was reduced, while the restaurants were moved from a kiosk feel to a more restaurant style feel.

Please respond with any questions, comments, concerns, or general feelings.

Committee on Undergraduate Recruitment, Admissions, and Financial Aid - January Meeting

Our committee has been accumulating information in order to make recommendations to the Office of Admissions by the end of this semester. Each meeting is meant to gather information about the various aspects of this committee (recruitment, admissions, financial aid) through talking with people knowledgeable in each area. Here is a summary of the January meeting:


Kathy Cramer Walsh, Political Science - How Wisconsinites View UW-Madison

• Wisconsinites are proud of our sports, marching band, and research


• They are not happy with admissions, cost, and partying.


• Many Wisconsinites view UW faculty as lazy, liberal, and elitist.


• Kathy found that not as many rural students apply to UW but those who apply do very well in both admissions to UW and perform equal to others in grades once here.

I'm hoping some of you reading this will have suggestions as to how we can better reach out to the rest of Wisconsin...

As of Monday, February 2, the Office of Admissions and the Office of Visitor & Information Programs have been combined into 1 office, headed by the Director of the Office of Visitor & Information Programs.

Student Policies and Non Academic Program Committee

Hello,

The SPNAPC met on 01/22/2008. In this meeting we went over the Mission and Vision Statement for the Office of the Dean of Students, the proposed changes to Misconduct codes 17 and 18, update on safety issues, and the impact of recession on students.

As some or all of you may know, Misconduct codes 17 and 18 -dealing with behavior in University lands- (dating from the 1970's) are being currently reviewed for changes. Some of the critical points include:

• Language needed to be updated. (e.g: Internet and E-mail were not present during 1970's)
• Off campus jurisdiction
• Definition of "Matter of substantial University interest"
• Role of attorney.
• Language to ban unaffiliated persons from campus.
• Proposal: sanction between reprimand and probation. Currently there is nothing in between.

As of now, the school is waiting on the Regents and the legislature, however it hasn't heard any progress.

Safety issues were also discussed during this meeting:

• How do you get info to students? Other than WiscAlerts, other options mentioned were: Students teaching other students, weekly column on safety and happening on campus, and facebook.

Regarding the economic downturn and its effects on the student population, it was said in the meeting that Crisis Loans (loans from the university of max. $500 and payable within a year) are increasing and that this trend is expected to continue.
Also, it was mentioned the importance of students contacting the Financial Aid office in case of change of economic status to reevaluate their aid package. However, there is no promise of additional aid.

The committee agreed to to address the following points next meeting:

• Undergraduate students survey
• New name for the committee
• Budget
  
• 5 min. presentations of different offices associated with the Office of the Dean of Students.
  

Memorial Library Committee Meeting 12/12/08

Hi All,

Here is a summary of the MLC meeting on 12/12/08. Please note the student concerns, I would especially love to hear opinions about food in the library. Do students think there is a need to have a place to eat in the library? Or are food concerns not an issue with students? I would also like to hear opinions about cell phone use and if it should be permitted in certain areas. Our next meeting is 1/30/09 so if I could get some opinions (anything concerning the library) before then that would be great! Thanks everyone and I hope you all had a great break!

MLC Meeting 12/12/08

1) Minutes Approved from last meeting

2) Student Concerns:
- Memorial Library Suggestion box is located on the first floor near the circulation desk. Would an online suggestion box, through ASM website or Memorial Lib website be more helpful for students?
- Sinage follow-up from last meeting: new way finding floor signs now lead to Rms 412 & 212 & basement. Are these helpful & working?
- Request for extended weekday hours during the end of the semester.

3) Announcements:
- Chancellor Martin would like to coordinate the "Common Book" project. A project where a large number of students all read the same book. Specifics sill not clear. Any suggestions, would students like this?

4) Faculty Concerns:
- Food in the library is an issue for faculty. What do students think? Should there be areas for students to eat? What can be done to keep students from eating and making a mess in the library?
- Might need to get rid of fourth floor pay phone, sending mixed signals about cell phone use?
- Google digitization and Hathi Trust digitization of books still continues.

5) Discussion Topic:
- Budget concerns
- "Core mission"
a) electronic resources available
b) access to collections online and in print
c) library instruction program (about copyright issues)
d) instruction and reference support
e) prioritizing preservation
f) library loan services

Space and Remodeling Committee 12/16

The Space and Remodeling Committee meet on 12/16. In this meeting we went over the allocation of different funds the committee looks over and approves. Many of the funds went towards minor remodeling projects which were mostly used to improve classroom space. The major topic that was discussed was the five year campus fume hood program. This project's goal was to replace the fume hoods on campus that did not meet the ventilation standards. The project was called successful by the committee because 98.9% of the fume hoods meet the ventilation standards. The replacement of the bad fume hoods also created significant energy savings which helped the goal of reaching 20% energy reduction by 2010. The SPRC approved the request of the physical plant for an additional five years for the fume hood program. This money would be spend to research and improve the flow of air to reduce the energy cost of ventilation in the buildings. 

University Honors Committee 12/18/08

The University Honors Committee met on Thursday, December 18. Topics discussed include the Undergraduate Ethics Symposium, Honors at commencement, the Churchill Scholarship, and an upcoming Honors assessment project.

The Undergraduate Ethics Symposium, sponsored by the Prindle Institute of DePauw University in Indiana, is an opportunity for undergraduates to present works addressing ethical issues. Submissions must be sent in by February 1, and authors of selected works will be invited to a three-day symposium in April. For more information, see: http://prindleinstitute.depauw.edu/programs/ethics_symposium08.asp
Also, if anyone has suggestions about particular student groups that might be interested, let me know and I will make sure to send them information. Thanks!

In the past, honors students have been recognized at commencement by wearing white stoles with cardinal bars. Some colleges, including Letters & Science, offer an additional reception for honors students graduating from their respective programs. It was suggested that perhaps this is not enough, and that more should be done to recognize the achievements of honors students. The discussion resulted in an informal proposal to begin work on a joint reception for students graduating from every honors program on campus. This would hopefully give honors students and their parents more adequate recognition, and (more importantly in my opinion!) would cultivate goodwill among a group of prospective donors. Most agreed that this is an idea worth pursuing. What do you all think? Any suggestions or objections?

The Churchill Scholarship, sponsored by the Winston Churchill Foundation, funds one year of post-baccalaureate research at Cambridge University for science, mathematics, or engineering students. In past years, UW-Madison has failed to nominate any students for the scholarship, and the Foundation is therefore considering a revocation of our invitation to make nominations. Part of the problem is that potential nominees often already have plans to attend graduate school, and consider a one-year research project to be a "break" that they cannot afford to take. Although circumstances certainly vary, this is largely a misconception: graduate schools generally welcome students who have some formal post-undergraduate research experience. To increase awareness and encourage more students to consider applying, a Foundation representative will be visiting UW-Madison in early March. If anyone has suggestions about undergraduate research groups that would be interested in meeting with him, please contact me. I personally think this is a great opportunity for UW-Madison students, and it would be a shame if we cannot get it together to make some nominations. For more information about the Churchill Scholarship, see: http://www.winstonchurchillfoundation.org/Scholarships.html

The Honors Committee has received funding for an assessment project that will attempt to determine how the experiences of honors students measure up to their expectations. Both graduates and current students will be included in several web-based surveys, the first of which will be sent out soon.